[55.02] The J- and K-Band Brightness of the Solar F-Corona Observed During the Solar Eclipse on February 26, 1998

The solar eclipse on February 26 1998 was observed from an
open flying aircraft at an altitude of almost 6 km above the
Pacific about 800 km southwest from Panama City. The solar
F-corona, produced by light scattering and thermal emission
from dust around the Sun, was observed with a low
atmospheric straylight level in the J and K-band over a
field of view of 7 degrees. The data show no indication for
the existence of pronounced brightness features in the solar
F-corona, such as often discussed as evidence for the
existence of dust rings. The shape of the corona is slightly
elliptic but symmetric in the north-south direction. The
data show a reddening of the coronal brightness compared to
the solar spectrum. The color of the F-corona is influenced
by the temperature of dust particles, by their spatial
distribution, as well as by their size distribution that
influences especially the forward scattering that is seen in
the corona from dust particles close to the observer. We
will discuss the color variation from the solar equator to
the solar pole and with distances from the Sun and compare
it to models of dust light scattering and thermal emission.